Pro-Ukraine protesters berate Vice President JD Vance as he travels with his family to a ski resort

Vice President JD Vance experienced a tense moment with his family in Vermont. On their way to a ski resort for a weekend vacation, they were interrupted by hundreds of protesters who approached the Republican leader for his discussion with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. This event ended in one of the biggest scandals in recent U.S. diplomacy history.

As reported by Fox News, Vance and his family were scheduled to be staying at the Sugarbush Resort in the town of Warren when, shortly before arriving, hundreds of people carrying Ukrainian flags and pro-Zelensky banners gathered nearby to demonstrate against Vance. The line of demonstrators stretched for over a quarter of a mile, and, as Vance and his family advanced, some of these people approached to rebuke the vice president for his tense exchange with the Ukrainian leader, shouting "traitor" or calling him a "puppet of Russia."

The television media reported that although the vice president and his family managed to move to another part of the mountain to ski, some people also gathered there to protest the Republican leader. While the incident did not escalate, Fox News revealed that Vance and his family had planned to stay at a four-star hotel near the resort but decided to move to another undisclosed location.

Argument with Zelensky

The discussion between the U.S. vice president and the Ukrainian president took place in the Oval Office as part of an on-camera meeting where a possible agreement to stop the war between Ukraine and Russia, following the Kremlin-initiated invasion in 2022, was to be negotiated.

While diplomacy reigned during the first minutes, the discussion erupted soon after Zelensky demanded security guarantees and Vance responded that the war should end through diplomacy. "The path to peace and the path to prosperity is maybe engaging in diplomacy," the U.S. vice president remarked to the Ukrainian president, who replied, "What kind of diplomacy, JD, you are speaking about?"

Far from holding back, Vance replied, "I’m talking about the kind of diplomacy that’s going to end the destruction of your country. I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media."

Following these words, the situation became even more tense as President Donald Trump intervened. The meeting culminated without any agreement, and with Ukraine-U.S. relations up in the air.